1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to an information terminal to read a symbol and a computer readable medium.
2. Background Art
Portable information terminals (handy terminals) which include a scanner unit to scan a bar code or two-dimensional code as a symbol have conventionally been known (see Japanese Unexamined Patent Application Publications No. 2010-092211 and No. 2008-083843, for example).
In a handy terminal capable of reading a bar code, for example, the process of reading a bar code and the process to use the read bar code data for business are performed by an exclusively-developed business application.
Such a business application performs various processes depending on the intended use, such as searching for product information on the basis of read bar code data to display it, and checking a server for product information and inventory information to display it.
Application developers have developed such a business application using the scanner unit in the method (1) or (2) below.
(1) Each business application is individually developed using a dedicated bar code scanner library.
(2) With a resident program to read a bar code, bar code data read via a keyboard wedge, for example, is inputted in the input field of a business application.
When developing a business application in the method of (1), however, an application developer needs to learn how to use the dedicated library, which is a great burden on the developer.
Further, when a plurality of business applications are running on the handy terminal at the same time, it is necessary to change an application which uses the scanner unit or to make the scanner unit open/close for each application because the applications cannot use the scanner unit at the same time.
When developing a business application in the method of (2), the setting for bar-code reading cannot be switched depending on the business application in using a plurality of business applications.
Therefore, a common setting available for a plurality of business applications needs to be made.